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AVENGERS #48
"War Plan A"
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Pencils: Kieron Dwyer
Inks: Rick Remender
Colors: Tom Smith
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Price: $3.50 US/$5.25 CAN |
Though I'm enjoying elements of the Avengers, it does seem to
be losing steam in the last couple of issues, as Busiek has piled another very
long storyline (the Kang War) on top of one that has been running since the
early days of his run (the Triune) and the result is that the book is feeling a
little more tired and scattered. Busiek is clearly aiming for epic, but in this
issue, he's hitting more in the area of unfocused. There's still plenty to enjoy
here, including a feeling that the Avengers really are up against an incredibly
dangerous foe and that the stakes are incredible, but I find myself ready to see
an end to all this sooner rather than later.
This issue is also notable
for a couple other reasons. For one thing, it's another 100-page Monster, a
concept I like in theory but find myself growing disenchanted with in practice.
The addition of three other comics for $1.25 is a bargain, but when I'm not much
interested in reading them, I'm essentially paying more for the comic I want to
read and not getting much in return. I am glad that Marvel has seen fit to add a
cardstock cover for the 100-page Monster, which makes it feel considerably less
flimsy, but so far I haven't seen one where the stories reprinted were better
than getting, say, another 22 pages of regular story for the extra money
instead.
The other notable thing about this issue is that it's the debut of new artist team Kieron Dwyer and Rick Remender, better known for their work on "out there" indie books like Lowest Comic Denominator and Billy Blackheart, both of which have about as much to do with the Avengers as Hustler does with Home & Gardens. However, Dwyer has done a fair bit of super-hero work before, including some impressive turns on Captain America and Superman, and while his work here isn't as strong as it was on that work or the work on LCD or Billy, it's solid stuff. To be honest, I found his
take on the Avengers a little cartoony, particularly when we see close-ups as
with Thor or Quicksilver, but he does some really excellent work on the attack
against the Master's complex to balance that out.
Story-wise, this issue is all
over the map, and it's a bit distracting. There are no less than five groups of
heroes acting this issue, and none of them really gets the screen time they
need. Quasar's investigation of the object in space will no doubt tie into the
Triune's trip into space, but for right now both of those subplots are treading
water. In addition, the battle of Thor and Firebird to defend against Kang's
armies is placeholder stuff, establishing what they're doing but merely
reiterating something we only know.
There are two much stronger
elements to the story, though, as two groups of Avengers battle the Master and
Kang. Warbird's unorthodox methods of battling the Master surprised me, and I'm
curious to see the fallout from this, because while she might not have been in
line with Avengers codes of behavior, it's easy to argue that she was doing the
right thing in this instance. The battle with Kang is interesting largely
because of how effectively Kang is being portrayed, with a team of the most
powerful Avengers unable to do more than cause him a minor inconvenience. Busiek
has created a situation where I believe Kang's threat, and believe that the
Avengers could fail, even though I know they can't. The only question that
remains is whether he can convincingly have them win at this point without
undercutting the strength he's established in his villains.
This had the feel of an issue
that should have been double-sized, and the story feels as if it should be about
one or two issues from wrapping up. I'm unsure at this point whether Busiek and
his artistic collaborators can recapture my interest, or whether it will
continue to dwindle.
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